Re: Today’s game v Catalan : Tue Apr 02, 2024 10:20 am
I don't think Dufty is the reason we lost against Catalan. I know games are not won on paper but we had more possession. Better completion rate, less errors, less penalties conceded, conceded less line breaks, less missed tackles.
We lost that game simply on our inability to defend last tackle plays. I don't remember them busting us open on tackles 1-4 all game but we just couldn't defend the last play.
There are lots of things that contribute to that. The main one for me is when we play against a team where they have powerful three-quarters we struggle to restrict metres. Against Cas, Hull FC, London we were driving back their wingers and centres early in the tackle count. Against those teams Dufty and Thewlis were fielding kicks without any defender within 10 metres of them.
But against Hull KR when we struggle to contain Ryan Hall or against Catalan with Johnstone and Davies almost every last play was a contest and a threat. I like Holroyd and his last ditch tackle an Mcilotum was brilliant but that game was another level for him. Tai didn't quite offer the block protection for Thewlis when fielding kicks and there were a lot of other things we could have done better like putting pressure on Abdul so that his kicks wouldn't have been as accurate.
Overall I am not too down about the result. Better to get a whack in the ear now and learn from it. (As long as we do learn from it)